Roche Molecular Diagnostics (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the COBAS® AmpliPrep / COBAS® TaqMan® HBV Test v2.0 for use in the United States. The new Roche test provides a fully automated solution for the quantitative detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in human plasma or serum for patients on HBV antiviral therapy.

“This new test enables clinicians to follow best practices in patient care with standardized viral load measurements, a broad range of detection, and high sensitivity,” said Paul Brown, Ph.D., President and CEO of Roche Molecular Diagnostics. “The system is also carefully designed to protect the integrity of each patient result, so clinicians can make key medical decisions about therapy with confidence.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 1.2 million people in the United States are living with chronic hepatitis B. Clinical practice guidelines for chronic HBV highlight the importance of monitoring the levels of circulating hepatitis B viral DNA as an indicator of when hepatitis B therapies should be started, and to measure response to treatment, including suppression of HBV replication.